SHENANGO TWP, Lawrence County — Old Butler Road runs parallel in the shadows of Route 422, but it once served as the main artery between Butler and New Castle. On Dec. 27, 1929, it was the site of Trooper Brady Paul's death in a shootout with an outlaw couple.

Daniel Vogler, chairman of the Lawrence County Commissioners, recalled Paul's last moments on a warm winter Friday at noon during a wreath-laying ceremony he and others have held for at least six years. This year marked the 90th anniversary of Paul's death.

“It's indeed an honor for you all to join us,” Vogler said to a group of more than a dozen participants. In attendance were members of the Brady Paul Lodge #54 of the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents troopers in Butler County and the surrounding counties. The ceremony was also attended by all four of Lawrence County's common pleas judges.

“A couple robbed a store in Butler and they came down this road to go to New Castle,” Vogler said. “Corporal Paul and his partner set up a roadblock here to stop them. A gun battle ensued and there was one mortal injury. The people who did the shooting came into New Castle afterward and hijacked another car, and then engaged in a nationwide crime spree.”

This is an excerpt of a story appearing in Sunday's Butler Eagle. To read the whole story, make sure to pick up a copy of the paper or subscribe online.